Monday, October 29, 2012

I had an amazing time this past weekend hanging out with my BFF and my sister, Mary, at our Fall Retreat Weekend in Grand Bend! It was a super busy time, but we managed to have lots of fun along with the 120 friends that joined us!

We had an Orange and Black Halloween Party on Saturday night complete with a photo booth that we put together. Here are just a few of the crazy photos of us!

Monday, October 22, 2012

Our Fall Retreat Weekend is quickly approaching and we always like to have a few workshops and demos for our guests. This year we have 115 scrapbookers joining us and we have been very busy preparing for their arrival.

While I sat home today waiting for the repair man for our hot water tank that decided to flood our basement yesterday, I was able to make up a couple of samples using a product that we will be demonstrating this weekend. I thought I would just show a quick sneak peek before I packed it up.

Monday, October 15, 2012

Our Inspiration Elevator challenge this month was issued by Ann Jobes. It was a great challenge and although my finished project did not quite end up like my mind's eye had envisioned, I still totally enjoyed the process and the challenge.

Ann wanted us to build a page around the values or beliefs that are important to us. Here is what she had to say:There is no "right way" to do this. Spend some time thinking about this. It's your chance to share with future generations something that is important to you and makes you who you are. Take some time to collect some verses, quotes or sayings that speak to your soul. Choose one that you think is a "life verse" - something that really communicates the essence of you. Use whatever photo(s) you think will suit your message. Enjoy putting a meaningful page together using your favourite techniques, style, papers - whatever makes it "you".

For me to choose a 'life verse' was easy. My entire life is built around my faith in Jesus and my awareness of His love for us. I am constantly aware of His presence in my life and the fact that He cares about every aspect of our being.

One of my favorite quotes is by St. Teresa of Avila: "However softly we speak, He is near enough to hear us. Neither is there any need for wings to go to find Him." It is truly one of my basic beliefs.

I decided to choose a picture of a gorgeous sunset that I took and I added the verse to the photo using Photoshop. That became the basis for my layout.

From there I decided to just have fun with some mists, stitching and my Silhouette Cameo!

I found some awesome leaves and branches on the Silhouette store, and I cut them out of white cardstock. I also added some butterflies that I punched out using a Martha Stewart punch and I used a border punch in a couple of places.

The paper is from My Minds Eye and I also added some grey washi tape in a couple of spots.

The title was also cut out using my Silhouette.

The photos don't quite do it justice. It is hard to photograph all the white. I really enjoyed this challenge Ann! I need to do more scrapbooking about me and who I am and this was a great start.

Here's the list of my IE friends, who have been working all month to create gorgeous and inspiring designs. I do hope you'll pop by each of their blogs to see what they have created and perhaps take a moment to leave a comment for them.

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Our challenge at Little Red Wagon this week is to create a fall-themed card. I didn't feel overly inspired to do a typical fall card, so I went with a pretty basket of fall flowers and leaves that I cut out of patterned paper.

I then added a sentiment banner, some stitching, a bit of twine and a couple of buttons.

And there you have it!

Do try to join in the challenge this week. We would love to see your fall-themed creation!

Monday, October 8, 2012

It was such a beautiful day today! Even though the air was a bit cool, the sun was shining and the outdoors seemed so inviting that we decided to go for a walk. At first we thought we would just walk along one of the trails near our home, but then we just kept on walking and about 1-1/2 hours and 7.5 km later, we ended up back home with tired legs and sore feet!

But, we also ended up with some beautiful photos that I thought I would share with you.

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Welcome to the Autumn Colours Blog Hop with Two Scrapbook Friends! You should have arrived here from Shelby's blog and I am sure that you have been inspired by all the great creations you have seen so far!

I decided to try something a bit different for my project. I had a white photo tray from 7Gypsies that I have been wanting to do something with, so I made a Fall frame for my home.

I kept the papers for the background simple as I wanted it to be a subtle backdrop for the tag element.

I had fun piecing together all the bits and pieces that I combined on the tag. Die-cut leaves, buttons, twine, ribbons, a doily, a clip and pattern papers all went into my main element. I even used some of the cardboard from the box that the frame came in! I just ripped a piece to size and then misted it with Mister Huey's Color Mist in white.

Fall used to be my favourite season, until I realized it was all too soon followed by winter - my least favourite! But, I can still appreciate the beauty of the season and I love to decorate with fall accessories. I hope my project will inspire you to create your own home decor projects for fall.

Now remember to leave a final comment on the Two Scrapbook Friend blog and send in your phrase to qualify for a second chance to win a prize!

Don't forget - in order to be entered to win a prize:

Leave a comment on all the blogs as you go and then go back to the Two Scrapbook Friends blog and leave a final comment there by October 8th at midnight.

To have a second chance to win, keep track of the HIGHLIGHTED WORDS from each blog and email the phrase to 2friends@execulink.com. Put "Blog Contest" in your subject line.

Check back at the Two Scrapbook Friends blog on October 10th to see if you are the winner! (Winners will not be contacted personally.

Be sure to stop by each on the following blogs, leave a comment and keep track of the secret word!

Life is good and each new day holds many blessings if we but know how to recognize them! My blog is a place where I can share some of the blessings in my life including my love of family, paper crafting, travel, cooking and reading. Thanks for stopping by!